


Runes

by Bad_Monkey_in_the_Night



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Adventures, Alternate Universe, Bulma - Freeform, Bulma is a badass in this one, Childhood Trauma, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Friendship, Norse Mythology - Freeform, Other, Runes, Slow Build, Torture, Vegebul, dragon ball - Freeform, dragon runes, goku is no idiot, lemons will follow, mystic worlds, tragic romace, vegeta - Freeform, very much non canon, wishing dragon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 08:53:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16615841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bad_Monkey_in_the_Night/pseuds/Bad_Monkey_in_the_Night
Summary: It begins, as many adventures do, with a very foolish idea - and seven hidden stones. Not at all ordinary stones, mind you. As dull and plain as a thing may appear in sight – you never know what sigil hides within. Or what magic it unfolds.Bulma, a vala, has been gifted, they say, with seidhir- visions or augur; and cursed, if you ask her, with the duty of a highpriestess' apprentice, while all that she wants is to find a magic source – a flame of might that never dies.A thing so rare, and so powerful, it can never fall into the wrong hands. Best of all, it never falls into anyones hands at all. Bulma, however, knows she has to find it. She feels it with a longing she's never had before.How will she manage to if the sigils that lead her are hidden? How will she master the runes that are forbidden?And what does the Otherrealm have to do with it, where the bridge leads her in her dreams?Why is she not afraid, standing there, but burning in an allconsuming rage? The fire palpable around her? Does it mean she will find the source, or does it mean she's doomed?And most important of all, how will the nornes entangle the right fates, if someone always messes with the threads?





	Runes

~

You shall not carve them blind into a bone.

You shall not bleed them without guide.

You shall not meddle with the cursed and wild.

You mustn't ever, ever steal them from the king of night!

~

excerpt from the Folklore of the Portals

author unknown

 

 

Runes.. They can be treacherous and hidden. They can harm and kill, if they are chanced upon by those who do not have the right. The right to use them- or the right to pass.

Therefor, because it cost too many lifes, of fools and innocents, their nature to remain unseen is a blessing for many a wanderer.

Not for Bulma, though.

 

Catching her breath with greedy inhales she bent over to catch herself from stumbling. A chasm of at least 6 feet gaped before her.

 

'Good. Perfect. Just when i thought it could get boring.'

 

She cursed internally as she blinked into the thicket behind her with a deepening frown.

Nothing to be seen, for now.

Oh Goddess, i swear i'll make up for that.

Running for more than a mile wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind when she set out this morning.

How foolish of her to not bring one of the boys along.

Not only didn't she find any sign of a hidden rune, but instead a whole nest of poisonous arachneas.

Just her typical luck.

 

Slowly calming down, her breath normalised and she straightened and stretched. And realised that every single muscle in her body burned like fire.

She couldn't run on like that. She wasn't sure she could even walk.

Another nervous glance around brought nothing unexpected. Only deep mossy forest, rocks covered in the roots of ancient trees, and a peaceful, almost cheeful calm.

She's never been to this part of the forest. She didn't know there was a small stream this far east from the templegrounds.

The other side of the cleft was no different from where she stood. This area was clearly not often visited by humans. Animal trails were crossing here and there. Apparently the roes frequented this water, and quite often.

For a moment she wondered if she should follow the stream. Giant bumble bees flew past her up river. Dragon flies, too. Their wings glistened in the sunlight that seemed exceptionally bright through the crack in the canope.

'It's almost like a gathering' she thought.'Where are they flying?'

 

Closing her eyes, Bulma filtered the aura around her. Indeed, there was something exceptional about this place. Something magic..

 

'Well..i **should** wait for Goku to arrive. don't want him to think i was hoaxing ..but then again, it doesn't matter if i go only a tiny bit further - as long as he materialises close by. And anyway, i should propably stay on the move from those arachneas. I'll send him another call, just in case.'

 

With opening eyes, she raised one hand and her fingers made an intricate dance through the air – leaving a glistening golden trail in their wake – a rune.

 

When Bulma and Goku were still kids, and the elders around them not yet aware of the extend of their abilities and the silly ideas that brewed in their heads - even more so when they were seen together - it was a trick that came in handy and was never questioned by their childish minds – the fact that Goku could vanish with the blink of an eye, and appear in, for a child, far away places. And how lucky that Bulma always knew, where interesting places were to find.

They were unafraid and bold, oblivious to the dangers of the world. Or maybe they were eager to find them.That, they soon did.

And even since then Bulma had no idea how to deal with giant arachneas.

She's busy mastering powerful runes of magic, thankyouverymuch.

 

There was still time.

3 Runes in 5 months was not that bad, considering how tough they were to actually take. They were forbidden for a reason, goddamnit. Ordinary people would burn at the touch of those, sizzled to a crisp before they could say „told you so“.

Bulma wasn't ordinary. She was everything but.

Only in her dreams, she herself suspected as much. By day, she was the apprentice of the high priestess. And she shuddered with discomfort at the thought what that soon would mount to.

A judgement. Her first. She knew already she hated it. For she'd decide over someones fate..at least, what she saw would make this decision. And sooner or later, heads would roll. No mercy for the wicked, oh no. Not in this place...as if the fog wouldn't take enough people already. But that was a whole different story she prefered not to ponder on right now.

 

Bulma sighed as she carefully stepped over stone. She'd never **wanted** to be a priestess – a vala, a daughter of the godess. But the gift of sight was too rare. Worse, it was something she couldn't run from.

She had started **dreaming** early in her teens. Almost 8 years ago. It didn't matter if nightmarish or joyful – the sight was draining, and it took years of practice and meditation to control the nausea and pain that rang for days after ..like a scolding, like she was knocking on doors she wasn't supposed to knock on - while everybody around her cheered her on.

Naturally this confused her impressible younger self. It secluded her. She'd stuck her head into the scrolls and lessons like her life depended on it. Maybe it did. Because to Bulma it very much felt, like it's either the next high priestess, as her parents and the present high priestess very much expected, or nothing.

 

Now, a few years into her studies she's matured beyond this pressure. She knew she had her own path. It was yet to be seen whether she was fit for all the duties. At least now, she had the means to follow this path shown to her.

Almost.

 

4 Runes were still not appearing in sight.

With Runes that were hidden by magic you had to practically look under each stone to find something.

Bulma was different. Bulma had to close her eyes, and follow the stars.

Not literally - it was early afternoon now.

But it seemed, the nornes would draw a pattern before her inner eyes, sometimes more like the doodle of a threeyearold, of what fates and storms they'd weave around her.

 

In some rare moments, when it wasn't nauseating, or frightening, or simply annoying, she thought it was magnificent to behold. Like a sea of stars only she could swim in. And nightswimming was one of her favourite things to do.

 

Bulma walked along the cliff up stream.

The buzzing and humming of the insects over the light murmurs of the water grew on.

After not 10 minutes of walking an almost straight line she gasped at the sight before her.

A myriad of dancing swarms hovered over a lively well. The water sprang and gathered between large bolders and smaller stones into streams that flowed into a pond, crowned with water lilies. The crystal clearness of the water shone almost turquois from the mossy carpet that surrounded it's stony bed. Towering over the well with it's tiny waterfalls, stood several ancient alder trees.

 

There was no doubt. This was a sanctum, a natural place of magic.

 

She stood in awe for quite a while before remembering what drew her here.

 

Come to think of it.. this **was** the perfect hiding spot for a certain rune her mind had spied in the area only a few nights prior.

 

She just had to concentrate, and manage to touch the sigil stone without burning alive to pry the rune from its resting place into her palm. And then hope Goku would follow her calling soon. Because she had absolutely no idea where she was.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, dear reader, to this little introduction chapter of a new AU.  
> Runes will be about many things - first and foremost, vegebul. Yes there will be lemon (lot's of it, i might add) and tones will get quite dark and gloomy as we go.  
> For now, i give you this tiny starter. I promise lot's of action in various forms - very soon! Since i write this in random moments of inspiration+time, i will post as soon as it's written, so it's not beta-read or shakespeare - for which i apologize, my dears. I still very much hope you enjoy - and if you would like to see more, or have any suspicions/conspiracies/other, don't be shy to share your thoughts!  
> love  
> Bad money in the night


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